Sunday, October 15, 2017

Our Wedding

We got our wedding photos back! We got our wedding photos back!

And oh, I love every last one of 'em.

My friend Kayci, who was once my student and is now an incredible wedding photographer, took our photos, and I am so excited to share some of them with you! (Check out Kayci's Instagram HEREand her Facebook Page HERE).

Our photographer, Kayci

The ceremony was at Glenwood Community Church, the church I grew up at in Vancouver, Washington. We had the ceremony in the wooded area on the church property, and the reception in the sanctuary.

I have always wanted to get married under a banner of blue sky, surrounded by trees. About 50 of our friends and family made our forest wedding feel just magical. They made chalkboard signs and brought a vintage dresser; they crafted an arch and decorated shepherd hooks; they made music and arranged flowers. Literally every single detail of the wedding was made beautiful by our loved ones.

Our guests arrived to harp music, and my bridesmaids walked down the aisle to "For the Beauty of the Earth," played by a harpist, cellist, and violinist. I walked down the aisle to the string trio playing "Be Thou My Vision."

Jay and I saw each other for the first time that day when I walked down the aisle. I'm so glad we decided to do it that way!

When I was a girl, I did not plan the little details of my wedding; I only ever knew I wanted a ceremony among the trees, performed by my dad. Because he played double duty that day — he walked me down the aisle and performed the ceremony — my two younger brothers welcomed the guests and opened us in prayer. They got us off on a light-hearted yet meaningful note. I can always count on them to do that.

When Jay and I were planning our wedding, we decided on three non-negotiable ceremony and reception goals: 1) to get married (we like setting very reachable goals); 2) to rejoice in the good things God has done in our lives; and 3) to celebrate the glorious news that we can know God — that his love doesn't have be some distant, pie-in-the-sky idea; but we can know it in a real, personal, I-will-commit-to-you-forever-and-I-would-die-for-you-and-I-will-also-bring-you-coffee-in-bed kind of way.

My dad did a beautiful job sharing a wedding message that reminded us to always fix our eyes on Jesus, the only One who can truly satisfy our souls.

My college roommate, Rachel, has a beautiful, soulful voice that sounds like a cross between Lauren Hill and India Arie. She is my favorite singer forever and ever, Amen. To my great delight, she sang "What a Beautiful Name"while Jay and I took communion, and then led us and our guests in singing "In Christ Alone."

Early in our dating relationship, Jay told me he did not want to kiss me until the altar, should we get married. After Jay gave his life to Jesus in his late twenties, he worked hard to learn how to treat women like children of God and how to honor God
with his body. He told me he knew chastity was the result of dozens of formative choices, and that for him, not kissing was one of those
choices. He said he also thought that building a friendship foundation,
without the distraction of kissing, could be wise.

And so we waited until the altar for our first kiss.

I'm so thankful we did. The decision gave us so much freedom to enjoy each other as our friendship grew. I would do the same thing all over again!

With that first kiss to seal the deal, we were man and wife and ready to party!

I love the look of joy on our siblings' faces in this photo:

Before we could head to our reception, we took posed photos. We invited our guests to stay and watch the group photos, and many of them did. It was fun to share the process with them!

Our reception was so joyous. We ate beautiful, delicious food and enjoyed all sorts of entertainment. My sister-in-law, Jaime, made a slideshow of Jay and me through the years; and my brother's friend performed a hilarious song about me and Jay. The song was written by another family friend to the tune of the Princess Bride theme song, and its performance had a Napoleon Dynamite flair that made us roar with laughter.

Our dessert table was absolutely epic:

The reception flew by: my sister and Jay's brother gave toasts, we cut the cake, and then we danced. A friend teaches group dancing, so she taught us to do the Virginia Reel and Marie's Wedding Dance. Every one who could dance, did. I thought I would pop from the joy of it.

If
you've ever seen a Jane Austen movie, then you can imagine that the
group dancing was like the movie's ballroom dancing, but with a southern
twist.

We danced the Virginia Reel to "Bless Your Beautiful Hide" from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

It delighted me to watch Jay's people and my people mingle. What wonderful people God has given us!

After the last dance, our guests gathered with the party horns we gave them, and they honked to the high heavens as Jay and I exited. It was just the most perfect, playful ending to a truly celebratory day — a day made perfect by our friends and family who labored to make every detail glorious, and who have long prayed this day would come.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who have prayed God would heal me and bring me a life partner. I am so thankful for this new season of marriage and continued healing.

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Thanks for stopping by! I'm Sarah. I’m an English professor and graduate student living in sunny southern California. This blog is where I search for evidence of God’s goodness in the hard stuff, share my victories as I heal from chronic invisible illness, and tell stories about the easy-to-miss moments of grace in my day-to-day. Won't you stay awhile?